spring 2008 vol. 17 no. 1 James Lamb joins Katie Winn of Marlborough, Mass., Member since 2003, for a hike along the trails of The Nature Conservancy’s Disney Wilderness Preserve in Central Florida. Disney Files Magazine is published by the good people at A wise frog once said, “It’s not easy being green.” (Okay, so it was a wise man with his Disney Vacation Club hand in a felt facsimile of said frog, but you get the point.) P.O. Box 10350 With all due respect to the rainbow-connecting amphibian, being green really isn’t that Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 tough. In fact, as the frigid months of winter give way to the warm promise of spring (those sub-70 temperatures here in Florida were brutal), now’s the perfect time to enjoy the greener E-mail the magazine staff at: [email protected] side of Disney. Let’s start with The Nature Conservancy’s Disney Wilderness Preserve, pictured on our All dates, times, events and prices cover. More than 15 years ago, The Walt Disney Company entered into a relationship with printed herein are subject to The Nature Conservancy and other visionary agencies to preserve thousands of acres just change without notice. (Our lawyers minutes from the Walt Disney World® Resort at the headwaters of the Everglades ecosystem. do a happy dance when we say that.) Owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy, the protected land supports lakes, swamp systems and more than 300 wildlife species. MOVING? Today, this meticulously restored sanctuary of natural Florida is being hailed as a model Update your mailing address for land-protection efforts around the world. You’ll find details about hiking the preserve on online at www.dvcmember.com pages 15-16, so get your boots ready. MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONS? For those who prefer leaning to walking, there’s Disney’s Wilderness Back Trail Adven- Contact Member Services from ture, a gloriously effortless journey through Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily at on an environmentally friendly Segway® X2 Personal Transporter. And, since Disney Vacation (800) 800-9800 or (407) 566-3800 Club Members enjoy a discount on the tour, the conservation extends to your wallet. Look for more information about that cutting-edge tour on page 3, where you’ll also find TTY telephone number for details about a Member discount on the people-powered Gardens of the World tour of Epcot®. Members with hearing disabilities: This foliage-focused walk through the Park coincides with the return of the Epcot International (800) 800-9837 or (407) 566-3320 Flower & Garden Festival, and you’ll find a few ideas for impressing your fellow festival goers Fax Number: (407) 938-4151 on page 8. (Not that you aren’t capable of impressing on your own. You’re quite something.) These green vacation options would be music to the fuzzy little ears of Pocahontas’ forest E-mail Member Services at: friends if they weren’t so busy chasing Jessica Biel on page 11. (Lucky deer.) [email protected] Of course, the ideas showcased in this edition are just the beginning. Whether you’re learning about your hoofed and feathered neighbors at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas Stay up to date on the latest (which reminds me…don’t miss the Jiko recipe on page 25), “adopting” sea turtles at Disney’s Disney news between magazines Vero Beach Resort or just recycling this magazine after giving it a second thorough reading, online at www.dvcmember.com we hope you’ll agree that it’s pretty darn easy being green. (Again, no disrespect to the frog.) Welcome Home, Ryan March Disney Files Editor Disney Files Magazine proudly uses recycled paper and soy-based ink. DVC-MBR-65-B al: Disneyphiles (Diz-nee-fyles) noun, plur y ve, or are attracted to, all things Disne really cool people who lo al: Disney Files (Diz-nee-fyles)y noun,Vacation plur Club eally cool magazine for Disne a r yphiles Members, the ultimate Disne From the desk of jim lewis top news & perspectives By Jim Lewis, President, Disney Vacation Club you asked, we listened Listening is serious business here at Disney Vacation policy implemented at our resorts Club. (What would you expect from a company that uses ears last year. While a few Members as an icon?) aren’t in favor of the change, we The annual Condominium Association Meeting is one of hope everyone understands that our greatest forums for Member feedback, and I’m pleased to say the policy is designed to enhance that more than 500 Members were part of that forum in Decem- the enjoyment of as many fami- ber. We consolidated our 2007 Home Resort meetings into a sin- lies as possible. gle gathering, alleviating the need for Members who own at Finally, the 2007 meeting multiple resorts to attend multiple meetings. The move also gave us another opportunity to helped us reduce costs associated with these meetings, which are address questions raised during funded by your Annual Dues. our 2006 meetings. Among the Members applauded this enhancement, as well as the broad topics raised last year, for ex- range of changes we announced throughout the meeting, from ample, was the availability of Member Services’ expansion to a seven-day operating schedule nutritional information for food served in our resorts. (9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Eastern daily), to the expanded availability of We looked into this issue and learned that, while chefs’ varying the Disney Dining Plan (look for details in this edition of your ingredient proportions don’t allow for the sharing of consistent magazine), to the planned elimination of the daily Internet ac- nutritional information, ingredient labels are, in fact, available cess fee for Members staying at our Disney Vacation Club Re- upon request. sorts (watch for more details in your summer magazine), to the These are just a few of the topics covered during the meet- introduction of shorter Interval International® exchange options. ing, and I invite you to be part of our next gathering on Dec. 9, The meeting also served as a forum to discuss mixed feed- at the Walt Disney World® Resort. Watch Disney Files Magazine back we’ve heard about other changes, such as the smoke-free and your Member Web site for more details. Makeover Mania When I wrote to you in your winter magazine, I spoke of our vacation, which you’ll read first collaboration with the hit ABC show “Extreme Makeover: more about in this edition of Home Edition,” which still ranks among the highlights of my career. your magazine. Moved by that experience, we continued our work with the Both the Chapin and show and hosted the Chapin family at Disney’s Vero Beach Hughes families will enjoy Resort. If you watched that episode, you saw not only some more memorable vacations familiar sights along Florida’s Treasure Coast, but also a shining with us for years to come, example of just how powerful a single family can be in changing and we look forward to a community. We were so moved by the Chapins’ community welcoming them home outreach that we lent a helping hand to one of their leading again soon. We are deeply causes, a Seattle-area food bank, by presenting a veritable honored to have these treasure trove of donated food. amazing families in our For our third episode (slated to air as this edition of your neighborhood. magazine goes to press), we went “across the pond” to London, England, where show designer Ed Sanders led the Hughes family The Hughes family of Louisville, Ken., on a VIP tour of his hometown. Our friends in London at the Royal Garden Hotel (part of our Concierge Collection) rolled out the proverbial red carpet for this remarkable family and served as a luxurious base of operations for this memorable page 2 dvcmember.com member perks magic with Members in mind Gardens of the world As Disney gardeners put the finishing touches on the upcoming Epcot® International Flower & Garden Festival, Disney Institute pro- grammers are finalizing plans for this year’s immersive tours of the Park’s World Showcase gardens. The three-hour tour (raise your hand if you just started whistling the tune from “Gilligan’s Island”) will explore the vital role plants play in the “Disney show,” using World Showcase pavilions as living class- rooms. Guides will explain the five principles of the Disney horticul- ture program, examine the role landscaping plays at the Walt Disney World® Resort, discuss methods of adapting Disney landscaping tech- niques at home and reveal the secret to growing one of those man- eating plants from Little Shop of Horrors. (Okay, that last one’s not part of the tour. But imagine how cool it would be if it was!) This Gardens of the World tour is scheduled to take place March 20, 22, 25, 27 and 29; April 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26 and 29; and May 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 27, 29 and 31. Disney Vacation Club Members enjoy a 15 percent discount off the regular price of $59 a person. For more information, or to book the tour, call (407) WDW- TOUR (939-8687). Disney’s wilderness back trail adventure Walt Disney was known to have one foot in the past and one become an ongoing offering. in the future. (Neat trick.) Specially trained Cast Members lead Guests in a brief orien- Guests can be a little more “Walt-like” with Disney’s Wilder- tation of the two-wheeled, self-balancing gizmos before guiding ness Back Trail Adventure, a journey through the rustic woods of the adventurous pack on a gliding tour through the pristine Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground on a cutting- Florida landscape in and around the resort.